Magnet smart jewellery lets you literally keep in touch

Wearables can do all kinds of things, from monitoring your dog’s health to diagnosing diseases. But Magnet smart jewellery offers something a bit different: the chance to literally keep in touch with someone you love.

Only sold in pairs, it’s designed for two people to use. It can be worn on an attached bracelet, added to a necklace, held, or placed in a table top cradle. When one person taps theirs, their partner’s vibrates briefly and then lights up. Unlike texts or calls, it offers a physical way to connect when you can’t be with someone, and works anywhere in the world thanks to low-energy Bluetooth and an app that works with any Android or iOS device.

It’s made by Boston start-up Headtalk, which was founded by graduates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They currently have a working prototype that’s been beta tested for the last few months but in order to bring their more polished final design to market, they’ve turned to crowdfunding.

They’re looking to raise $60,000 on Kickstarter by 20 December (currently they’re at just over 16k) and are offering a 30% discount on pre-orders, which means you could pick up a pair for $118 (around £75).

Alexander List, one of Headtalk’s co-founders, says, ‘While your phone, computer and smartphone connect you to the whole world, we created a device designed to do just one thing: Connect you to one person you love. We believe it’s something people are starving for.’

Sadly for the romantics among you, if successful, Magnet won’t ship until July 2015, bypassing Valentine’s Day entirely. But an IOU’s always a good look, right?

Staff Writer Diane is especially interested in high-tech medical advances, weird and interesting uses of science, new gadgets, and the intersection of tech and lifestyle. When not working, she reads the internet, listens to podcasts, watches American TV, and thinks about leaving the house.